Time and Time Again
by DoomNightAt12
Summary: After a failed battle, time moved on without them. Now after all these years they're back to fix the same problem they left from. The kishin's moon prison is breaking. No one is laughing. Time has moved on without them. (Bad future AU. Cross-posted on AO3)
1. Chapter 1

Everything is Laughing.

"All stable over here."

"Are you sure? We only get one chance to flip the switch."

"…"

"Well?"

"We've double, triple, look I'm not even going to say quadruple because you've been working on this for _years_. Have some faith in your own work."

"Hm. It will be what it is, and we'll live the consequences."

"I'll let you have the honours then."

…

…..

...

Drowsiness hung heavy over Maka, like a comforter draped over her entire body. Her eyes cracked open to the minuscule amount of light breaking into the room. The room in question was not of her own, but instead it was one of the stone rooms deep beneath her school, like the one she had always visited Crona in. The question of why she was sleeping at school, and not at her apartment with Soul came to mind, but then she realised that nothing else was coming to mind. Sitting up on the thin mattress, her mind felt empty, like a vast expanse of open sky. There were deeper memories; family, school, Soul and the rest of her friends, even a vague flicker of a battle that they were part of. But as she tried to bring up anything recent her mind changed back to the empty void.

Gaining nothing by sitting, Maka left the bed, bare feet pressing against the cold stone and taking her out of the room. Her plain shirt and shorts didn't do much to keep her warm in the long and empty halls.

"…Soul?"

She clung to the solid thoughts, her weapon partner and best friend. While her friends pushed her forward, she suddenly felt anything to break the silence would ease the wavering of her soul.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Perhaps an ear piecing scream that almost knocker her off her feet was not exactly what she was going for, but as the yelling continued she had a goal. She picked up her pace to reach a room further down, door slightly ajar.

"My- my beautiful, perfect, all powerful body-!"

"I-it's not that bad…"

The voices seemed familiar, so she looked inside. Green eyes found a blue haired boy sobbing as he pulled at his hair, and next to him a girl with black hair doing her best to console him. Her brain guessed at who they were, but it wasn't without a testing soul perception that she was certain that it was BlackStar and Tsubaki. Both were acting like usual, but their appearances were off. BlackStar's muscular build had vanished along with his signature tattoo, and while his hair was still blue, his face was more angular to match the spikes. Tsubaki was now only a few inches off Stars height, with a bob of short black hair and lighter coloured eyes.

"Guys?"

The two paused to look at Maka, mild confusion sitting on their faces, until Tsubaki's lit up.

"Maka?"

"WHAAAT?!" BlackStar still had his loud voice if anything, "That really you Maka?! I would have never guessed with the…" He gestured with a circular motion from his chest.

Maka squinted at him, then down at herself. She had to admit something was off, but she had simply thought it to be with her empty mind. Now she could see that her own athletic body had disappeared, and that her cause of mockery from the boys, was now replaced with a modest bust. Her hands raced along her body to find other changed, the main being hair own hair being equally as short as Tsubakis'.

"I thought I heard annoying nearby."

A fresh feeling of relief hit Maka as a wavelength she knew all too well came up behind her. Her Scythe partner Soul Eater thankfully still looked as close as he could to as she remembered. Tired red eyes seemed closer to brown, but the mop of white hair still sat on a head that was as close to the one she had always known.

"Soul! Thank god."

Both pairs of Miester and Weapon discussed the differences in their looks, and the all-round confusion about why they were resting in the school's underground. All related the same blank spaces in their memories, and the vague feeling of a battle they had experienced, but with no solid answers they simply chose to search. The four set out back into the halls, keeping eyes out for the other three missing from their group or any other familiar faces.

The maze of corridors was the same as always, drafts chilling the carved stone and making the teens shiver. Doors were opened, but revealed no more than cobwebs and dust, even the room Maka swore was the one she always visited when beneath the school. Their path moved towards the exit stairs that would take them back up into the school.

"If the school still exists."

"Don't say stuff like that!"

Soul sighed, "You gotta admit it feels like a possibility."

No one replied, too afraid to admit the same sinking feeling was inching its way into their heads. Thankfully, a sound of a voice rung out, urging the group forward from their thoughts.

"Whaaat?! What are you saying?"

"Please, if you mind, do not shout."

"Whaaaaat?! What you saying stupid mouth!?"

Even as angry shouts, the four teens recognised the Thompson sister's voices ringing down from the top of the exit stairs. Taking the steps a few at a time they were greeted with the two pushing themselves into the personal space of a blond man in the doorway. The girls looked the most identical to their old selves, their matching short hair the only defined difference.

The man stood defensively against them, hands up and asking for calm, but as grey eyes moved away from the sisters and onto the new comers, he changed his attention.

"Ah, so you are all awake. I suppose we can move right on."

"HEY! We're not done with you." Patty moved to grab his shirt, but he was out of her reach in the blink of an eye, his hair shifting above his shoulders the only sign he moved.

"This way please." He smiled.

The group was on guard. An unfamiliar face, marked by a vertical line of stiches down the centre, and an unfamiliar soul that felt possibly guarded. However, their options were few, between going back to the labyrinth, or following him into the school. With a silent agreement to be ready to fight, they followed behind, walking into the familiar school halls. There wasn't a student in sight, nor any other living soul until they reached the top of the school, and the sight of Death's personal room.

Infront stood another unfamiliar soul, a creature with a long face and thick fur covering everything not hidden by clothes. It was similar to the wolf man Free they had once fought, however, why such a beast stood quietly by Death's door was a new mystery on the list. Its eyes shifted between the rooms guests, before turning away.

"Lord Death will see you now." It growled.

Pushing the door open, their guide gestured for the children to enter, before following in behind them. Each tentatively filed into the Death room, passing under the guillotines and making their way to the centre platform. Seemingly as always, the black form of Death stood facing away into his mirror, and everyone took comfort in the sight.

Maka however froze several steps back, staring into the black figure, noticing that like themselves, there was something off. His figure was wider, forming down into two legs rather than a single spike, and his hands that were folded behind his back seemed average compared to the old comically large ones.

"Good to see you all awake." Came a tried and almost deadpan voice, drastically different from Death's usual jovial tone, "If only it was in better circumstances."

Maka couldn't stand it. "Just what exactly is going on here?"

Her friends looked at her, then back to Death, who had turned to them. The sudden brimming frustration left tears pricking in her eyes, but she shook them away.

"Who…are you?"

"You know how to tell."

She did. Her body was foreign, but she could feel her gift from the depths of her soul. Soul perception had revealed her friends, but here she'd pushed the ability down, almost afraid to know.

She took in a deep breath, steadying herself as she reached out with her soul, passing by the blond man and her friends, towards the skull faced figure. She felt, and thought. Ideas fluttered in her head, but all came ack to the main conclusion. She knew.

"…Kid."

With a small motion the reaper removed the mask, revealing an all too familiar, yet drastically different image of their friend.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions."


	2. Chapter 2

"Kid?!"

"No way!"

"Is this a joke…"

"Wow you look OLD."

The reapers eyebrow twitched at the last comment, but otherwise kept a stone face as he watched the groups confusion. Ideas and speculations rapidly went back and forth, covering time travel to alternate universes. It was Liz who broke away and spoke above the rest.

"Alight, what's going _on_ here?! We've woken up with no clue about what's happened, and no one has given us any answers. Why are we different? Why can't we remember? Why are you old? Why…."

Tears of frustration were pricking at her eyes, and Patty was at her side with the same questions in her eyes. The entire group soon quietened, staring at the shingami in hope for answers.

"Hm." Came the flat tone from the God, "You will be caught up with history at a later point, but in short: You all died over 100 years ago."

What he had expected to set them off the most had left them deathly silent, a few possibly not breathing. Death was a hard thing to accept, and being told you had died over a century ago probably seemed like a sick joke. He took the silence as a point to continue.

"You have been revived to assist in the expected escape of the Kishin, whose prison is collapsing. You will be expected to re-train and fight alongside current DWMA staff and students, no exceptions. The predicted time of the escape is around three months, so extra steps may be taken to accelerate your adjustment to your bodies."

He wasn't particularly looking at them as he spoke, gazing over their heads as they seemed to do the same. Shock held the revived teens still, gazing out into the field of crosses which looked particularly crowded. Most of their minds where whirring to keep up with the information.

' _100 years? Dead? The Kishin escaping? What of our families? What of our friends?_ '

In the process of telling them their soon to be routine, he was cut off by the sound of the mirror ringing. Replacing his mask, he turned on the spot to give it his attention, quietly talking to the caller who was blocked from view. The conversation only lasted a few short seconds, but once done he swiftly walked passed the group without so much as a glance.

"Death Scythe, take them back to their rooms."

He was gone from the room. Some had turned to watch him go, but two hadn't, Maka in deep thought and Liz in some form of frustration.

The blond man, now identified as a Death Scythe, stood awkwardly by the shell-shocked group. He seemed to want to say something, perhaps try to offer some gentler words, but after several silent minutes he simply gestured for them to follow him back to the halls.

….

"What the FUCK. Is this some kind of sick joke?!"

With a furious kick Liz assaulted a nearby chair, overturning it and sending it down the hall.

"There's no way that's our Kiddo." Patty had pushed her emotions down, unlike her sister.

"Could any of that really be true? Like, if we died then how the hell are we here?"

"Surely this is just some trick or spell put on us to make us think that weird stuff is going on." Even with his own words, Blackstar didn't seem to believe it.

The Death Scythe had left them to find their own way back to the individual rooms, giving them some time to adjust. However, it simply left them alone without answers once again. All they could do is theorise and wait.

"This is all one big massive joke, and were the butt of it! You can bring out the fucking hidden cameras now! No-ones laughing!" Liz was practically screaming into the hallway, her confusion and anger bouncing around them. Tsubaki approached the blond, offering an arm and wrapping her in a hug. Soul quietly asked Maka how she was going, but the girl could only shake her head, not fully grasping at both the little information they had, and what her soul perception had told her of those around. There was nothing but empty air waiting for their thoughts.

As the miniscule amount of natural light began to fade, each teen could only resign themselves to sleep. A few pushed beds into other rooms, for some form of comfort between each other.

….

Waking in the cold underground left the revived sapoti team with a heavy cloud over their heads. With the events of the previous day, the revelation of living in the future was a hard pill to swallow, much like the ones they each found on their bedside with a glass of water and a small hand written note.

 _'One before breakfast, and one before bed. To help you adjust'_

The meisters and weapons slowly joined up, BlackStar having to be dragged away from training his new body, and the Thompson sisters trailing with reluctance to see their strange and changed meister again.

Like the day before, by the door at the top of the stairs, they came across the Death Scythe who escorted them around the building.

"Good morning."

Maka was the one who made the effort to greet him "Good morning, um..."

"Mason. Mason Stein. "

"Stein?" Soul perked up, "like, Franken Stein, Stein? "

"What gave it away?" he gave a sheepish laugh, pulling at a loose stitch under his chin.

"You saying that mad doctor got some?!" Tsubaki was quick to smack BlackStar, "Ow! Hey you we're all thinking it!"

"Please forgive his rudeness."

Soul stuck his hand up. "Yeah no, I'm surprised too."

"But…considering Dr. Steins age, surely you should be older than you look." Maka was still conflicted on how to feel about the man, his calm aura feeling like a cloak.

"Ah, well yes I am. There are some wonderful things that a mix of science and magic can do, and I'll be sure to teach you if you are curious."

"Teach?"

"Yes, from now I will be acting as your teacher and mentor, unless Lord Death requires me. You will also be free to take any other classes the school offers if you desire. Your training for the inevitable battle will take priority, of course."

His smile held a small sadness, but he turned and beckoned for the teens to follow.

The cafeteria only had a few students using the early morning breakfast service, so after grabbing a few items the seven of them seated themselves at a long table. Liz and Patty kept close, and BlackStar had something to say to Soul, leaving the other two girls to sit by their new teacher. It was the perfect time to probe for scraps of information.

"So Mason, if you don't mind me asking, if professor Stein was your Father, then who was your mother?" Tusbaki looked up from her fruit, genuinely curious about who would dare fall for the mad doctor.

"Was it someone from in the school?" Maka leaned around Tsubaki to join the conversation.

"I don't mind. She was a teacher here, Marie Moljinr."

"The Death Scythe? Really?"

Tsubaki and Maka looked at each other in surprise. The two made quite the power duo when Death had assigned them together, but an actual romantic couple?

"Yeah. They went through a lot in the months leading to the Kishin battle, but I guess being partnered together reawoke something between them. Mother did admit Stein was her first love back when they were students." His smile was happy as he thought back.

"Of course, that's why your wavelength felt familiar. It's the same calming sensation Miss Marie always had."

"I always was said to be my mothers son."

"And the stiches? Are they…?" Tsubaki made a small gesture to his face.

"Oh, very really. Top to bottom in split right down the centre." His carefree laugh about his dramatic stitching seemed to cement his relation to Stein. He pushed his hair back to show the stiches coming down from the top of his head, down his face and neck, before disappearing down his chest under his shirt.

Maka had a hand to her chin again, remembering on the mention of the Kishin, that apparently, the madness creature had been put away in a prison of sorts. Something that had been done without them, despite her group being vital to the plans they had formulated. There had also been no current mention of others they had known; their fellow students, other DWMA staff, her father, Crona…

Before Maka could bring it up, Liz and Patty broke apart and moved closer, looking at Mason with serious eyes.

"Hey, you're close to Kid…right?"

"Well, I am Death's current acting Death Scythe-"

"Could you explain why he's like, you know…. that."

Mason glanced as his untouched coffee, then back to the sisters.

"Uh, perhaps we should get started with the history lesson, just to clear the water a bit." He turned to look at the others, who had taken notice of his slightly raised voice. The Thompsons were anxious, but said nothing further as they all made their way to was must have been an old archive room.

They made themselves comfortable on the various chairs available, gathering around a cluttered table over flowing with paperwork. Mason stood towards the back wall which displayed maps and strategic plans for unknow operations.

"I suppose the best place to start would be your last battle. An unexpected battle, against an overwhelming force.

Sparing the detail, you were all defeated, save for Kid, who managed to secure your souls and return to the school. A dent was made in the number of the Kishin's followers, but the loss of you all was too grand of a price. Plans had to be changed, unprepared students rallied for battle. The DWMA did everything in its power to combat the Kishin. An alliance was formed with the Witches, along with a few other groups who had no interest in the world falling into madness.

In the end, the final battle took place on the moon. A history book would give a better sense of the battle, but I can say that there were many casualties for a temporary victory. The moon was turned into a prison for the Kishin, along side it's clowns.

"Wait, so there's no moon anymore?"

"You can see it later, but yes, in place of the moon in the sky, hangs a ball of black blood."

"Black... blood." Maka tensed, before looking up in determination "Sir, was it Crona? Were they involved?!"

The Death Scythe pursed his lips. "Yes, Crona, they …they used the black blood within them to create the prison. It's suspected they're still alive, trapped within the prison too. Apparently, it was a big surprise to everyone that they helped in such a drastic way."

?

It was the sisters who piped up next, the same question brimming.

"What happened to Kid?"

Once again Mason seemed apprehensive, moving to pluck at the stiches on his lip. He looked into each of the teens eyes, before sighing and crossing his arms.

"Lord Death… Kid. He made sure your souls were safe, but nothing else could be done. The only thing he could do was carry on. Into the battle that was…" He looked to the floor, "One sided. Brutal. A dark mark on history."

He looked back to meet the sister's eyes. "He missed you both, all of you. For so many years. Ever since I first met him he'd been searching for a way to get you all back. It took him years to even consider using another weapon. In the end, he just needed to move on to be useful to what remained of the school, even if it meant shutting away any feelings that weren't needed."

He scratched at his neck, letting the information skin in. He knew the stress was rooted in other problems too, but it wasn't his place to disclose the Gods deeper personal life. He just had to hope that Death would try to open up in his own time, possibly within the next three months. Seeing no other immediate questions as he looked back over the group, all that was left was the remaining history.

"The end of the battle revealed that the previous Lord Death had passed on, leaving Kid to take over his position. He chose to continue the school, dealing with the aftermath, and caring for the surviving students and staff, such as my parents. Thanks to the treaty with the witches coven, young witches were now free to choose their own paths, and some were now being accepted into DWMA. Authority also became split after a few years, to try improve relations between all parties. DWMA now operates under a council of two humans, two witches, Death and his Deathscythe. They were the ones who approved the plan to revive you all to fight the Kishin, and helped with finding the means, along with the development of the Kishin's new prison. Nothing within the DWMA goes ahead without consensus from them."

Soul waved his hand, looking apprehensive. "So basically, the world went to shit after we were gone, but then it got better, but now that it's about to go to shit again some bigwigs thought to bring us back?"

"We're trapped basically. Slaves to this 'councils' plan?!" Liz balled her fists.

"It's not fair! We didn't ask for this." Patty copied her sister anger.

"A star like me should carving his own path, not being ordered about in some bizzaro world."

"We don't get any say in this?" Tsubaki leaned forward, brows furred.

"You could try to run, however Bisclarvet has the best nose around, and is loyal to the council's words." The Deathscythe dismissed the notion, despite no one else in the room not recognising the name.

"We're strong together. It's part of the reason we were brought back, isn't it? We could easily fight back against anyone who tries to stop us from leaving." There was a glint of challenge in Maka's eye, knowing that she was probably right.

Mason's expression turned grim.

"You will all continue to work for the DWMA, until either Death or madness takes your souls. If you choose to go against, I have authority to destroy your bodies and bring your souls back here for judgement. I hope it does not come to that."


	3. Things change and stay the same

AN: First off, a MASSIVLY BIG THANK YOU to 8YearsOfMaka for their review! Seriously after reading that review I went and wrote sooo much of this chapter. Please review/comment on all the fics you love!  
The next few chapters are a bit of history/world building, so a little slow in places, and next two will cover BlackStar, Tsubakai and Liz n' Patty doing their own searching too. Please bare with me :D

* * *

The six newly revived students had finally been given their partial freedom. Mason had explained when and where the classes they needed to attend to catch them up on the new world were. However, when not required for classes, they had free roam of Death city to do as they wish. Maka made the first beeline towards the library, hunting out what books she could find on the last 100 years. History, science, magic, news, even a few year books in an attempt to track those she once knew. Soul on the other hand had decided to be more active, and followed the paths they had once travelled into town.

Death City was for the most part, exactly how they left it. The central staircase cut a line down through each tier, leading Soul past courtyards and fountains, along with a market of second hand goods held in the large square. Everyone there seemed in high spirits, making trades, laughing as children weaved between blankets, however Soul couldn't bring himself to smile at the scene. He could see beneath the happy faces a strain of fear, causing nervous twitches and darting eyes. It was the same fear that had started to sprout up when the Kishin had first escaped. The scars from the first encounter lingered, and by the sounds of it, the second coming was known by most.

Passing through the shopping district, Soul was finding other signs that the city wasn't so unscathed in the past years. Short cuts he found himself instinctively moving to were filled with rubble and trash, filling the thin paths between buildings with impassable mounds. The skylines had shrunk where building hadn't been rebuilt to their original size, causing awkward gaps where the desert shimmered through. Even when he finally got through the residential area, the once colourful and quirky student housing was no longer an eye catcher.

The dormitory that housed new students had become pale and over grown, but not disused. Between gaps in the ivy Soul watched a few young students practicing, managing half transformation and partial wavelength matches. It was nostalgic, but their grim and serious faces brought it back to reality, that they knew what they may have to fight in the coming months.

* * *

Even with faded colours, the apartment he and Maka shared still stood in place. The wear was showing as Soul made his way up, almost tripping on frayed carpet and catching his jumper on lose nails. He almost misses the door due to the number hanging off place.

His hand hesitated as it reached for the doorknob. What was he expecting? Maka wouldn't be there, and once they were gone Blair wouldn't have stuck around for longer. This was someone else's apartment now, and the inside wouldn't be the same old torn couch and noisy fridge, the place where his friends gathered and laughed.

But he couldn't tear himself away. It had been the home where he'd was happiest, but now the world had changed without them. The only things left for them were cold rooms and a looming battle. It was most likely even the Evans home would no longer be around, his parents and brother gone, maybe replaced by a newer generation. Would they have even known what happened to him? He hadn't kept contact, but the Kishin had affected he whole world, was the final battle known to them? There were just too many unknowns…

Soul was snapped from his thoughts by a startled squeak. The door in front of him was now replaced with a nervous looking girl, who was obviously trying to leave, but caught in confusion.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't know you were at the door. C-can I help you?"

Soul opened his mouth, but no sound came out. What would he even say? ' _Sorry, I lived here over 100 years ago and wanted to see if anything had changed? Don't mind me just feeling homesick?'_ He closed his mouth and returned his outstretched hand to his pocket.

"No, sorry. Wrong apartment."

The girl looked as if she wanted to say something, but she suddenly flew past Soul after a shove in the back.

"You're the one said we'd be late for class!"

Another girl barged out the door, only pausing to side eye Soul, before slamming the door shut and marching down the hall.

"S-sorry, I hope you find where you need to be."

The first girl bowed, before running to catch up with her roommate. Soul only took one more look at the door, before leaving himself.

* * *

After hours of searching, Maka realised the situation was no better than when she was a student years ago. Of the libraries vast collection, so much of the more detailed information was restricted to higher rank staff, and what she could find sounded exaggerated and glorified to keep people happy. There were vague stories talking about defended towns, forces repelled, plots failed and new allegiances.

One story she couldn't put down was painted as such, ' _The defence of Death City and the appearance of Lord Death_ '. Apparently, the city had been targeted just before the Kishin fight, and Death had taken up the front line with his trusted Death Scythe. It skipped over specific numbers of enemies or casualties, but did say that weapon and meister were pushed to the limits, and Death outwardly expressed distress when seeing his Death Scythe off not long after. No article from there on mentioned anything about Spirit Albarn. She didn't know if her good-for-nothing father died in that battle, or managed to live on.

"Idiot Papa."

Blinking what she wouldn't admit were tears, her attention moved to a more recent newspaper that had been left on the table. It was only a small publication, focusing on a lot of community happenings with a few major world news stories. Close to the back were adverts for jobs and services: gardening, building, repairs, dog walking. However is was a tutoring service that caught Maka's attention, what with its modest size and oddly familiar design: a cat face wearing a witches hat, on which rested a butterfly and firefly, surrounded by small pumpkins. It could have been a coincidence, but for the time she had no better leads. She left the library, ad in hand.

* * *

' _Sweet P_ _umpkin Home_ ' wasn't run from a pumpkin house, though there were plenty growing from the windowsills. Instead was a large sized cottage in the more suburban residential area, with the same logo from the ad hanging above the door. The advert had described the place as a 'witch climatization' project house, where young Witches could come and learn about living with humans, but from the outside business didn't seem to be booming.

With determination and a glimmer of hope, Maka knocked at the door. Moments passed. Seconds. She knocked again. The street behind her was quiet, and if she listened closely, there was only the distant sound of cars. No birds, no wind, just-

Footsteps. Hurried footsteps made their approach to the door. Maka found herself almost being knocked out by the door and the woman who leaned out

"Sorry! I was cooking and couldn't put it down. Can I help you-?"

The woman froze up as she finally focused on Maka's face. She leaned in close to study her, making Maka self-conscious of her foreign body.

"I don't believe- BLAIRIE! COME SEE YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHO'S HERE!"

Flinching at the sudden shouting, Maka watched the woman retreat into the house. All seemed rather dark inside, until her eyes adjusted and began to make out the familiar shape.

"What is it Risa, I was just getting comfortable…"

It took only a moment for the realisation to kick in, and suddenly the cat was barrelling down the hall, leaping into the air only to transform as she properly crashed into Maka.

"No way! No way no way! My sweet kitten is that really you?!"

Blair began hugging the living daylights out of the girl before she could respond, but slowly, Maka returned the hug. Blair only pulled away when she felt her shoulder begin to dampen, and she invited the blurry eyed girl inside.

* * *

Maka found herself seated a large wooden table with Blair, and two witches who introduced themselves as Risa and Arisa, who both seemed to already know her despite her slightly changed look.

"Blair, if you don't mind me asking, I know witches are supposed to have long life spans, but how are you still around?" ' _And still so young looking'_ she added mentally.

Blair leaned in, stirring the tea with her magic. "Cats have nine lives darling, and I haven't gone through them all just yet."

That was as evasive answer as ever, but in her heart Maka didn't care. She was thrilled to see someone she knew acting normal, like years hadn't passed in the blink of an eye.

"And how did you both meet Blair?" Maka turned to the insect themed witches.

"We used to work at ChupaCabra, your daddy would talk about you all the time and show off the most adorable photos."

A sheepish laugh from an unimpressed laugh. She knew her Papa visited a cabaret club in his down time, but did he really have to keep flaunting her even when doing something so distasteful?

"Ah, speaking of Papa, do any of you know what happened to him? After the Kishin battle?"

Even the mention of the Kishin made their faces drop. Risa and Arisa looked at each other nervously, and Blaire seems to struggle for something to say. After a tense few seconds, they shake their heads.

"Sorry Kitten. We don't know what happened afterwards. The school went quiet for a while when the city was being rebuilt, then there was some fan-fair when it reopened and let magic users in, but we never saw Spirit again."

With witches nodded sadly, and Maka couldn't help but slump in her chair.

"That's…okay. I expected as much. There doesn't seem to be any accurate records of the fight either."

"Maybe you should ask someone who was there-"

Arisa covered her mouth from the glares the other two gave her. Right, the only correct history would be from someone who witnessed the battle first hand, but that was a limited list. Kid was currently the least likely person to speak openly, and there were no surviving staff or students. Witches had been said to join the battle, but she hadn't found any names to trace, and then there was Crona…

"Oh, your tea must be getting cold, let me pour you a fresh cup." Blaire was trying to change the subject, "Risa, weren't you cooking something?"

The butterfly witches face lights up, remembering her endeavour and dashing to the oven. Arisa busies herself with fetching some plates and serving tools. Blaire gives her warmest smile as she pours another cup of tea,

Despite everything wrong with the world, the four enjoy a quiet afternoon tea time, laughing at the stories from the Sweet Pumpkin home.

* * *

The sun was sinking below the horizon when Maka and Soul finally met up, both fining themselves at the edge where the city crumbled away. It was the limit of their bounds, where the sand was filled with debris and stretched out into an unending desert. They both stood quietly, watching the suns sad face desperately try to stay in view.

"So, I found Blair is still around."

"Really? That cat's always full of surprises."

"…I couldn't find anything on Papa though. Or Mama, or the others from school, or how Crona…"

Soul placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling it shake a little. "Then I guess we'll have to get out there and find out ourselves."

By the end of their trip, they knew that the dripping black moon could be seen from anywhere in Death City. It watched over them, one large, haunting reminder that the world was not the one they could remember.


End file.
